Lesotho: the dangerous liaisons between politics and music
Audio 01:28
RFP (Revolution For Prosperity) activists sing and dance in the streets of Maseru, capital of Lesotho.
October 08, 2022. (Illustration).
© REUTERS - SIPHIWE SIBEKO
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
This Wednesday, October 19, in Lesotho, the citizens of this small country of 2 million inhabitants, landlocked in South Africa, vote to elect deputies who will then appoint a Prime Minister.
The political class is closely linked to the famo music scene.
A unique genre in Lesotho, based on accordion and drum machines.
A music that dates back to the time when men went to work in South African mines.
Decades later, famo music is still just as popular and its influence is also expressed in its violence.
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With our special correspondent in Maseru
,
Romain Chanson
It's 10 p.m., the red light in the Radio Lesotho studio comes on and off we go for a two-hour show.
Mpomolokeng Semoli has been at the helm of the show for 15 years with always
the same passion for fame
.
“
I grew up listening to famo, on this same radio station from the village.
It used to be mostly men, but now women are getting into it.
»
Mpomolokeng Semoli is also careful to mix artists.
The famo feeds a gang war between groups, linked to music and organized crime in the exploitation of illegal mines in South Africa.
“
When the bands you play are gang-related, you have to balance the playlist.
To show that you don't lean towards one group or another, that's what I do.
»
At Radio Lesotho, getting the right mix is a matter of taste, of generation, but also a matter of security.
Gangs linked to the biggest political parties
Some famo music groups are linked to gangs that mostly operate in South Africa.
These gangs are also linked to the two largest political parties in Lesotho.
The Democratic Congress (DC), and especially the All Basotho Convention (ABC).
For the latter, relations with the Téréné gang date back to 2006 when former Prime Minister Tom Thabané approached them.
These dangerous liaisons were the subject of a series of investigations published in the South African newspaper the
Sunday Times
by investigative journalist Tankiso Makheta.
“
At the time of creating his party, The Convention of All Basotho, in power at the moment,
Tom Thabane
made contact with Chakela, who was a very well-known musician in Lesotho.
He had many fans and this is precisely what interested Thabane to increase his electoral base
, explains Makheta.
Chakela agreed to make an alliance with Thabane and in 2012 his party won the elections
.
»
What interests the parties is to be able to reach the fans of the musicians in order to be able to win the elections.
But also the power of the groups with the territory they control in South Africa and the money they can bring.
It's a symbiotic relationship between music groups and political parties.
Tankiso Makheta, Lesotho investigative journalist
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